After a very positive start we were in shaky territory. Our antiquated gothic warehouse venue was being pulled from us at the very last minute due to council problems & having crashing the rented van into a lamp post the consequence was a smashed up wing mirror and a very angry nearby pedestrian...
The van was curable but the question of cancellation was posed with the venue situation..., BUT never considered; 120 tickets sold, decorations purchased, make up artists at the ready, food ordered and a line up & DJ to kill for..it wasn't really an option.
The only thing hanging in our favour was the secret nature of the event - how could anyone possibly note the change in venue when it was only revealed the night before to the guests?
Regardless of this fortune we were on tenterhooks as the hunt began. A very cool warehouse in Shoreditch shouldn't be hard to find..but 2 days before a saturday night near impossible...so our mission began....
In the meantime we were busy briefing dancers, models, organising the canapés and catering staff & organising the delivery of tables, chairs, various pieces of equipment, staging etc. All moulded to our prior venue it's hard to be logistical when this is not really firmed up..
Joshua purchasing loo roll in Hackney's Bestways Cash & Carry (this job is all glam).
Our day rolled closer and finally everything's in place...a suitably eerie basement which couldn't be considered for anything other than a ghastly halloween themed bash has come our way & it's pretty much opposite in terms of location, to our first choice - which makes supplier instructions vaguely easier.
What is NOT easy is the fact that it's down a hole, carrying an array of temporary kitchen equipment, enough food for 150 guests, lighting, decks & a whole bar is really not much fun. Practice at weight lifting or long distance military walking would certainly have come in handy but as it happened we had four strong boys on hand to help and we managed it in good time.
The military schedule that had been put in place was actually being out performed - plenty of time for shredding the place with fake cobwebs & smearing fake blood down the walls. Thank god for work experience Jessica Henderson who really got things going.
At about 4pm all the dancers, models and make up artists arrive for the transformation. The places is a haze of white face paint, blood, shadow & of course lots of running bodies desperate to find somewhere to change in to their slutty outfits (the theme is "Deathly Sex).
7.30pm, slight hiccup with the technical equipment, something's been lost in translation as the band appears not to have the right drum kit...doors are due to be opening and we can't as the sound WON'T WORK.
7.45..15 minutes late already, sound technician arrives, all is well. Sigh of relief. Doors open.
In flood the creatures of the night, everyone's made the effort & hopefully this late start has just given the guests little more anticipation..
Sexy vampires everywhere, happy men & lots of Alibi Pretox drinks are being sipped in the themed chemistry lab vices...a couple of the guys have been duped and turned up in Rocky Horror; full blown stilettos, hot pants & net tights. They actually don't look bad..
The van was curable but the question of cancellation was posed with the venue situation..., BUT never considered; 120 tickets sold, decorations purchased, make up artists at the ready, food ordered and a line up & DJ to kill for..it wasn't really an option.
The only thing hanging in our favour was the secret nature of the event - how could anyone possibly note the change in venue when it was only revealed the night before to the guests?
Regardless of this fortune we were on tenterhooks as the hunt began. A very cool warehouse in Shoreditch shouldn't be hard to find..but 2 days before a saturday night near impossible...so our mission began....
In the meantime we were busy briefing dancers, models, organising the canapés and catering staff & organising the delivery of tables, chairs, various pieces of equipment, staging etc. All moulded to our prior venue it's hard to be logistical when this is not really firmed up..
Our day rolled closer and finally everything's in place...a suitably eerie basement which couldn't be considered for anything other than a ghastly halloween themed bash has come our way & it's pretty much opposite in terms of location, to our first choice - which makes supplier instructions vaguely easier.
What is NOT easy is the fact that it's down a hole, carrying an array of temporary kitchen equipment, enough food for 150 guests, lighting, decks & a whole bar is really not much fun. Practice at weight lifting or long distance military walking would certainly have come in handy but as it happened we had four strong boys on hand to help and we managed it in good time.
The military schedule that had been put in place was actually being out performed - plenty of time for shredding the place with fake cobwebs & smearing fake blood down the walls. Thank god for work experience Jessica Henderson who really got things going.
At about 4pm all the dancers, models and make up artists arrive for the transformation. The places is a haze of white face paint, blood, shadow & of course lots of running bodies desperate to find somewhere to change in to their slutty outfits (the theme is "Deathly Sex).
7.30pm, slight hiccup with the technical equipment, something's been lost in translation as the band appears not to have the right drum kit...doors are due to be opening and we can't as the sound WON'T WORK.
7.45..15 minutes late already, sound technician arrives, all is well. Sigh of relief. Doors open.
In flood the creatures of the night, everyone's made the effort & hopefully this late start has just given the guests little more anticipation..
Sexy vampires everywhere, happy men & lots of Alibi Pretox drinks are being sipped in the themed chemistry lab vices...a couple of the guys have been duped and turned up in Rocky Horror; full blown stilettos, hot pants & net tights. They actually don't look bad..
In Zanadu are up & playing and we're all dumfound as to their brilliance. Milly & Ulyses rock the vocals whilst the five other instrumentalists add to the sheer intensity. We're relieved to have such brilliant band confidently seducing our guests.
The band come to a welcome pause and our starving vampires are ushered to their tables..the model waitresses begin to serve and everything to our relief is going smoothly..
The three eerie statue dancers are performing and providing entertainment for those not fully engrossed in conversation with the other guests on their table.
Everyone seems to be relaxing and getting into the swing. Our guests are mingling and it seems that the "wedding -style" forced seating arrangement is working. Despite the initial murmurs and complaints about sitting next to a stranger, it's what makes the party work and by the end of the night everyone will be best friends and thanking us for this forced fun....
or lovers...
Four courses later, we've seen In Zanada play their final set, watched the most incredible acrobatic performance from the dead vampire dance group & Jack Dexter is ready to get on the decks.
The dance floor begins to move & after some table scraping everyone's up. A long night of fun ensues...
